


The Way of All Flesh

by dea_ex_machina



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst and Feels, Character Death, M/M, Pining, Rebirth, Sibling Incest, Tags May Change, Thorki - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:14:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29883729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dea_ex_machina/pseuds/dea_ex_machina
Summary: The signs were right. When the world shut down in April 2020, Thor knew that he had to start looking. And so he did. He searched for almost a year - and when he finally found him, he smiled at the thought that this time it had taken a global pandemic for their reunion. Very dramatic.Losing loved ones is never easy. But who could endure losing their love over and over again, without losing their mind as well? After all: what you buy is what you own. And what you own... always finds a way back to you...
Relationships: Loki/Thor (Marvel)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	1. One: The boy who lived

**Author's Note:**

> So I got hit by this idea in the middle of October 2020. It sat at the back of my WIPs, but today it suddenly called out to me again, and I was able to write down the first chapter. I don't know where these characters will take me, but then again: where's the harm in getting a little lost these days, eh?  
> Please mind the tags - they might change as the story develops.  
> English is not my first language, so I apologize ahead for any mistakes along the way.  
> And now, please, enjoy!

**“What you buy is what you own. And what you own… always comes back to you.” – Stephen King**

The signs were right. When the world shut down in April 2020, Thor knew that he had to start looking. And so he did. He searched for almost a year - and when he finally found him, he smiled at the thought that this time it had taken a global pandemic for their reunion. Very dramatic.

**Chapter One**

**The boy who lived**

The hospital was buzzing with people, patients, and staff cluttering the hallways and waiting areas. The nurse that had picked him up at the reception led him through the corridors, zig-zagging the roaming strangers as best as she could.

She was filling him in while they were walking. “He arrived last Thursday. We tried to contact his legal guardians, but his parents passed away last month and he doesn’t seem to have any other close relatives – only you.”

“Both his parents died? An accident?” Thor let his eye wander around, getting quick glances into the rooms they passed, without really seeing anything apart from blurry drops of mint green and white.

“No.” The nurse sighed. “The damn virus took ‘em. The boy didn't catch it though – all tests were negative. Tough kid. Lived on the street for a few weeks, as I understand. The landlord kicked him out after he couldn't pay the rent anymore."

“And how did he end up here?”

She shot him a quick glance. The mask on her face wasn’t enough to hide the uncertainty in her expression. “Well…”

“It’s alright,” he told her, trying to sound as sincere as possible. “I’m still going to take him in and I’ll pay for his treatment, no matter what. If you tell me it’s drugs, I can handle that – I… I’ve seen worse. I just need to know what I’m dealing with. We’ll be out of your hair by the time your shift ends.”

She blinked, stopping dead in her tracks. “I- I don’t wanna sound like we’re trying to get rid of him. Please don’t think that I’m jumping the first opportunity to-“

“Of course not,” Thor said smiling reassuringly, lifting his hands in apology. “Sorry. I didn’t want to sound presumptuous. It’s just…” He gestured around at the cramped hallway. “I know what you’re dealing with. And I know that this whole story must seem very strange to you. Seventeen-year-old boy without a home, coming into your care; you believe you'll have to transfer him to social services because you can't find any relatives. And then a guy appears, telling you he’s his estranged uncle and is willing to take him home and rid you of the burden.”

"He's not a burden-" she protested, but Thor cut her off, nodding reassuringly.

“I know. Look-" he glanced at her nametag. "Look, Selma. I know you're doing what you can here. Judging you from the first impression I'd say you're doing even more. Just like everybody else in this place. This last year has been a nightmare, and I wouldn't even presume to know anything about what you're dealing with every day. So, I really wouldn't blame you for wanting to pass the responsibility for a teenager that has no severe injury over to someone else. You’ve got enough to deal with already.”

Selma just stared at him, a frown building on her brows. After a minute her eyes softened and she started walking again. “You know, not a lot of people would offer to take care of a homeless teenager. You’re pretty special.”

Thor shrugged. “He’s family.”

"That's a nice way of thinking." After a brief pause, she answered his previous question. “He was brought in by a police officer. They seized him after he got into a fight outside a deli. They’ll probably want to talk to you later as well.”

“That’s alright,” Thor said. “How is he?”

“His face looks pretty bad, but his injuries aren’t serious. The bruises will probably mostly be gone by next week. Otherwise, he just seems tired; he sleeps a lot. We set up a few meetings with a psychologist, but he doesn't talk much."

Thor nodded. He hadn’t expected anything else. “But, no drugs? He’s clean, right?”

“Yeah. I told him you’d arrive this afternoon. He should be ready to leave.”

“Good. That’s good.”

The boy did look pretty done in. He sported a black eye and cuts on his temple and his lower lip. When Thor arrived with the nurse he was sitting upright on the hospital bed, staring out of the window. He startled when the nurse knocked on the doorframe and turned his head to look at his visitors. He looked unaffected by their arrival, bored even, as his eyes first scanned Selma and then moved to Thor, where they lingered for a moment, before shifting back to the small, chubby woman addressing him.

“Look who arrived to pick you up, sweetheart!”

The eyes moved back to Thor. “Hey there,” Thor said, raising a hand in greeting. He got no answer.

“So… I can go now?” the boy asked instead, voice sounding hoarse.

“Yes, dear. Your uncle’s here to pick you up. You’ll need to fill out some forms before you leave, but otherwise... Yeah, you’re free to go.” Selma shot Thor a side glance. “That is – if you _want_ to go with your uncle.”

Thor studied the boy’s expression with interest. But whatever was going on in his head stayed hidden behind a neutral expression. “Yes.”

Selma shifted her gaze between them until she finally said, “Great. Then I’ll go grab the forms. Just stay here for a few minutes. I’ll be right back.” And she shuffled out of the room, leaving them alone in silence.

“I don’t have an uncle.”

Thor lifted his eyebrows but didn't flinch. "Is that so?" he asked, nonchalant, walking over to the window. The street outside was busy with people, all of them wearing masks and hurrying in different directions. It was a sunny day – the first one in weeks – but the January sun was already setting, casting the sky in blue and pink.

“That’s it?” The voice from behind sounded slightly surprised. “No heartbreaking story about some big quarrel with my parents and how you never got the chance to make up with them and how it’s eating you up from inside, but now you’re seeing the opportunity to make things right by taking me into your care? You just admit you’re lying?”

Thor smiled when he turned to look at the boy who scrutinized him, a frown upon his brow. “I was never really good at lying.” _To you_ , his mind added. “Besides,” he added instead, “I feel like you’re not the type to fall for a lie that easily”.

The frown deepened. “What do you want from me?”

“I’m here… to help you.”

The boy snorted. “Yeah, right”.

“You don’t believe me?”

“Why should I? For all I know, you could be some kind of pedophile”.

Thor’s lips curled into a fond smile. “I could be. But I’m not. While my”, he paused, “my _desires_ might be quite unique, I can assure you, I’ve never taken to harming children”.

This seemed to baffle the boy. He stared at Thor with a peculiar expression, before his face formed into a smug façade again. “You do realize”, he said, emphasizing each word with a little pause, “that this is exactly what a pedophile would say?”

Thor broke into a laugh. “You’re too smart for your own good, kid.”

“It’s Loki,” the boy said, shoving his hands – Thor realized only now how bruised and scratched his knuckles were – into the pockets of his hoodie. “And I’m not a kid.”

"Of course". Thor bowed his head, then met those green eyes with his own. "So, Loki. May I ask you why you're still willing to accompany me if you know that I'm not really your uncle?"

“You’re my ticket out of this freak show. I know they’re going to send me over to social service once it becomes clear I don’t have any living relatives. And I sure as hell am not going.”

“I see.” Thor nodded. _Sharp as ever_ was what he didn’t say.

“I’m also gonna ditch you at the first opportunity I get”, Loki followed clacking the heels of his Converse together where they dangled down the side of the bed.

“Yes, about that”, Thor said, sounding almost apologetic like he’d just remembered a painful circumstance. “I’m afraid I can’t really allow that to happen.”

Loki huffed. “I’d like to see you try and stop me.”

Two quick steps brought Thor over to where the boy was perched on the bed. He reached out his left hand and grasped the bony hoodied shoulder; firmly but not enough to bruise. His smile as he looked down at the irritated teen was genuine, but it didn’t quite reach his eye. “I will only say this once”, he said matter-of-factly. "So please do not make me repeat myself. If you're coming with me, you become my responsibility. I promise I will keep you safe, but I will not tolerate you running off and roaming the streets again. You might be smart but you've already proven that you're not yet capable of making good decisions for yourself. I also do not tolerate drugs or coming home after dark. Apart from that, you may do as you please. Do we have an understanding?”

Loki's eyes had gone wide with his speech. Now he wiggled under Thor's gaze, turned his head to face the floor, and shoved the hand off his shoulder. Thor let him go without resistance.

“What are you? A cop? Some kind of cult leader? Are you gonna sneak into my bedroom at night and touch my dick through the sheets then go back to your own room and whip your back because of some twisted purity vow or something?”

"That was weirdly specific, but no", Thor said, folding his arms behind his back. "As I said, I have no intention to harm you. But you haven't answered my question. Do we have an understanding?"

The boy’s eyebrows furrowed.

“You could still tell the nurse I’m not your uncle. You could tell her you don’t want to come with me”, Thor offered.

Loki didn’t answer right away. His right hand slipped out of his pocket and went up to touch the cuts on his temple. He must have had the same thought as Thor: _Where else could he go?_ He licked his lips; then he nodded.

"Yes?" Thor asked. "Yes, what?"

The boy sighed, then met his eye with a cold, calculating gaze. “Yes, I want to come with you.”

"Good", Thor nodded. Quickly he added, "Thank you." _For choosing me again_ was what he didn’t say.

Loki just stared at him. Maybe he was confused. Maybe he was plotting to suffocate Thor in his sleep and slip away despite their little agreement.

 _I’ll find out soon enough_ , Thor thought. For now, he was just content to have him back. The finding was always the tricky part. The keeping… well, he had quite some experience in handling that now. He would find a way. This time, he really would.

\---

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Thor grinned. “Not what you were expecting?”

Throughout the whole drive, the boy had been quiet. Every time Thor had risked a glance to the passenger seat, Loki had been sound asleep – or had pretended to be. Thor had never really been able to tell for sure. Not in this life, nor in the others.

Now they stood at the steps to his home's front door. The size of the villa seemed to leave quite an impression on the boy.

“You should have lead with ‘ _I’m a fucking millionaire, can I adopt you and take you to my fucking big Victorian villa’._ Not go all _good Samaritan_ on me in the hospital.”

“Actually, it’s Gregorian.”

“Huh?”

“The house”, Thor explained. “It’s Gregorian, not Victorian.”

"Yeah, sure, why not", Loki grunted, too busy squinting up the red bricks of the front and to the second-floor windows. Then he gave Thor a weird look. "But you _are_ a millionaire, right?”

Thor shrugged. “More or less.”

The kid whistled. "Well, maybe I should let you touch my dick after all."

When he saw the look on Thor’s face he quickly added “I would catch it all on tape, dummy. And then, after I report you to the authorities and cry a little at court, all of this”, he waved his hand vaguely towards the property, “would be _mine_.”

“Why would you want to go through all this trouble?” Thor asked, tossing a tiny, shiny little something to Loki, who caught it without taking his eyes of the house. So even his reflexes were the same this time. Interesting. “It’s already yours.”

That earned him a confused look before Loki turned his eyes on the trinket in his hand. It was a house key.

Thor watched him with interest. So far this boy hadn't reacted how he had expected. A lot less tossing, growling, and screaming than the last time.

Loki turned the key in his hand, seemingly marveling at it – or maybe at its profanity in comparison to the home it opened up. “Well”, he finally said. “The way you say it makes it sound easy.” He looked up at Thor, the smug expression back on his features. “But the way things are now, _you_ are still attached to the deal. So, it’s not really mine.”

Thor smiled. “Well, like someone I once knew used to tell me: there’s a catch to everything.” He took the remaining steps toward the front door. “But still, this home _is_ yours now. And I’m sure you’ll get used to me eventually. I might not look it, but I’m not taking up much space.”

He turned and gestured for Loki to open the door.

The boy had a stern expression on his face, but he followed him up nonetheless.

“What a strange thing to say”, he noted, as he slipped the key into the keyhole and turned it.

Inside it was almost as chilling as outside in the cold January breeze, due to the marble floor and the high ceiling of the entrance hall. The boy didn’t seem to mind. He dropped his jacket together with the rest of his belongings – two duffle bags and a small backpack – and went over to one of the pillars (equally made of marble) to run his palm against the cool, polished stone.

“This is just crazy”, he muttered to himself while looking up the grand staircase.

"The bedrooms are upstairs. The study, too. The kitchen, dining room, and library are down here.” Thor waved his hand in the appropriate directions. “There’s a solar in the back as well. I have taken residence in the master bedroom. You may choose yours from any of the remaining ones.”

Loki blinked at him. “And the rules?”

“Rules?” Thor asked back.

“Y’know. Like ‘ _don’t go into the west wing, it’s forbidden, trespassing will be punished_ ’ – that sort of shit. I mean, you must have something to hide in a house this big.”

“Like a rose that’s counting down the days I’ve left to break the curse that transformed me into a hideous beast?” Thor sounded amused. “Yeah, sorry to disappoint. This is just the way I look. No true love’s kiss can cure that.”

“So you’re saying I’m allowed to go everywhere? Look in every room, every cupboard, snoop through every photo album on the shelf? No boundaries?”

It was Thor’s time to huff now. “Like I said in the hospital: As long as you return here before dark and stay away from drugs – you may do as you please.” On seeing the suspicious look on Loki’s face he added, “And I must ask you to respect my privacy and stay out of my room, of course.”

“Ha”, Loki said. “So you do have secrets!”

“Nothing I’m not willing to share with you”, Thor countered, brushing his thumb over an ornate chair next to the front door. “But snooping through my bedroom uninvited would be, y’know, _rude_.”

“You know, I don’t get this, old man. I don’t _get you_.” Loki combed his fingers through the thick dark curls on his head. “Why am I here?”

Thor smiled at him, a little sad something pulling at his heartstrings. “This is your home. Let’s just start with that.”

When the boy opened his mouth to speak again, Thor held up his hand. “I know you’ve got a lot of questions, but I’m afraid I can’t answer most of them right now. It’s been a long day for both of us and a lot to take in. So let’s just call it a night and get you settled, huh?”

After a moment of silence, Loki said, “Fine. But if you’re thinking about raping me in my sleep, I’ll have you know I’m sleeping with a knife under my pillow.”

\---


	2. Two: A deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You think you have some questions after the first chapter? Well, Loki has some more...  
> Enjoy!

**Chapter Two**

**A deal**

Getting a teenager to settle in took some time. The moment Loki had chosen one of the bedrooms, he turned the knob and locked the door right in Thor’s face.

Thor sighed. He should’ve expected as much. To Loki, he was just a stranger whose actions made little to no sense. So he decided to retreat and give the boy some space to settle with this new situation.

 _At least he’s eating_ , was the primary thought that kept Thor from lurking outside the kid’s room all day, which probably would have cost him his last remaining points of trust with the boy. They had developed a simple routine of Thor leaving a tray of food outside Loki’s door three times a day. Afterward, Loki returned it emptied to the hallway for him to recollect. He tried not to worry. Well, at least he tried not to worry too much. 

But no matter how many times he told himself that the two of them had already faced half a dozen re-starts that went much more poorly than this one – worry he did.

 _Give him time_ , he told himself. _Let him come to you. He always does in the end._

And Loki did.

So when the boy finally decided to make himself seen Thor was resting on the couch in the drawing-room, lazily flipping through the TV channels. He didn’t really feel like watching anything, but he needed something to keep his mind distracted.

At least, used towels and half-eaten meals were signs that his housemate was still alive and kicking. But other than that Thor hadn’t seen so much as a strand of dark hair. If Loki was snooping through the stuff in the other rooms, he was being very discreet about it. Not one thing was out of place or looked like it had been moved around.

Thor knew he had to be patient. But after all this time he still couldn’t quite figure out the _how_.

So when Loki finally appeared and flopped down in the armchair across from him, he nearly had a heart attack. 

“Oh, uh, hey there” he stuttered. “How are you feeling?”

He didn’t get an answer. Trying for an air of indifference, Thor fixed his eye on the screen. On the far side of his peripheral vision, he could make out the dark figure of the kid whose clothes and hair formed a contrast to the light brown coloring of the chair.

“I see, so far you haven’t molested me in my sleep.”

Still not turning his head, but feeling his pulse climbing up his throat, Thor answered, “And you haven’t murdered me in mine. I don’t know about you, but I’d definitely count that as a win. Go us!”

Loki ignored his cheerful tone. “You’re not exactly _parenting_.”

Thor hummed. They fell silent. When he finally turned his head, he found the boy frowning at him.

“Oh, sorry,” he said. “I thought you were observing. Was that a question?”

The other only raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not good at being a parent. No experience,” Thor offered.

“But, like, you’re not making me do _anything,_ ” Loki said, brows furrowing even further. “Not even the basics. You let me stay in my room all day, and don’t even come knocking to check on me. You don’t make me come out for dinner, let alone clean up my dishes. You don’t make me go to school-“

“Do you _want_ to go to school?” Thor interrupted him. He realized just now that that thought hadn’t so much as braced his mind. “Most of the schools around here are only doing online classes right now, but if you want I could find some-"

“You’re missing the point!” Loki snapped. Thor fell silent and just looked at him.

“You’re my legal guardian, but you’re not… _guarding_ me,” he continued after taking a deep breath and pulling his calm expression back on. 

Thor sat up properly. “I’ve never had any children to care for.” He knew it was a weak excuse even before Loki snorted.

“So you’ve decided to simply try some anti-authoritarian parenting style on me and hope for the best?”

“Uhm,” he sounded pretty dumb folded. “Sorry.”

“Whatever.” Loki rose from the armchair in one sift motion and stalked out of the room.

Thor blinked, a bit startled. “That went well,” he said to himself.

The next time he saw Loki, Thor was preparing dinner. His heart leaped a little at the sound of shuffling steps in the kitchen doorway.

“I’m making lasagna,” he informed the boy without turning around. No answer came, only a small screeching of chair legs moving over the polished floor.

While he layered the lasagna with cheese, Thor wondered whether he should try his luck and say something else. Eventually, he decided against it. _Let him come to you_. Okay then.

All he did was shove the casserole into the oven and then turn to clean the pan and knives he had used.

Apart from the eventual clicking and banging, he caused with the dishes, the kitchen was perfectly silent. 

Thor almost wondered if Loki had left again when the boy spoke.

“Did you kill my parents?”

He nearly dropped the glass lid he was cleaning. Carefully, he set it down on the sink and turned. The boy looked just as pale as he had the first time he had seen him in the hospital. The cuts on his face were healing nicely, and even the black eye looked more like a dirty yellow smudge. 

“What?” he asked, grabbing for the towel to dry his hands.

Loki watched him with a strange mixture of boredom and interest. _Teenagers_ , Thor thought. _They could look bored while jacking off._

“Did you kill my parents?” Loki repeated.

Thor frowned. “Your parents died because of the virus.”

“That’s what _they_ told me”, the kid said, shrugging. “The authorities, I mean. I wasn’t allowed _to visit_ them in the hospital, after all. Maybe they just _told_ me the virus killed them. Maybe this is all some kind of conspiracy, and in reality, _you_ killed them to get your hands on me and sell me off to human trafficking.”

“Would it not have been easier for me to just kidnap you?” Thor mused, turning back to his dishes.

“Ah, but then my parents would be alive and searching for me. Now, there’s no one left to ask any questions about my disappearance.”

Thor hummed appreciatively but said nothing.

“See,” Loki continued. “It would explain a lot. Like, for example, this house, and your wealth. And of course why you would take in a complete stranger. The orphaned son of two people you didn’t even know.”

“Is that what’s bothering you?” Thor asked while putting the dried knives back into the drawer.

“Um, yes?” It was hard not to laugh at the sarcasm in his voice. “Any _sane_ person would worry about a complete stranger popping up and claiming to be their uncle, and then doing such a poor job at covering the lie.”

Thor turned to him, smiling. “Well,” he said carefully. “It’s a good thing we aren't strangers, then.”

The bored expression changed into confusion, knitting the dark brows together again. “I beg your pardon?”

“Actually, you and I have known each other for quite a long time.”

“Is this some psychological shit you’re trying to pull? Because it’s not gonna work.”

“Look,” Thor said, pulling a bottle of white wine from the fridge and rummaging through the drawer for a corkscrew. “I know you have a lot of doubts about me and even more questions. But I cannot give you the answers right now.” Having pulled the cork, he reached for a glass and poured the wine.

“All I can tell you is that you’re safe with me. You can trust me. I know you won’t, and I understand why, but still… you _can_ trust me.”

Loki huffed, propping his elbow on the counter and resting his head on his palm. “Do you realize how _suspicious_ you’re sounding?”

“Well, I suppose you’ve done some research these past few days?” Thor sipped the wine, watching the kid over the rim of the glass and seeing him flinch at the question. “So? What did you find?”

Loki schooled his face back to the bored façade from before. “Nothing spectacular. A boring Facebook page, an article about a donation to a Swedish museum – I get it, you’re the friendly neighborhood millionaire. That’s actually even _more_ suspicious than anything else.”

“Why?” Thor asked, immensely amused by this little conversation.

“Because,” Loki elaborated, tracing an invisible pattern on the countertop. “You could’ve at least put _some_ effort into your fake back story. _No one_ has a clean slate like this. Especially not people with money.”

“Maybe you should be in charge of my PR then. What would you suggest?”

“I don’t know,” the boy mused, taking a moment to think. “The least you could do is an ugly divorce. Or a breakup with your long-time girlfriend because you refused to propose after a ten-year relationship. Something like that.”

“I see. I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

“What’s with the Swedish museum?”

“Actually, it’s Norwegian,” Thor corrected. “They needed help purchasing an ancient artifact of great historical value from a private collector. I merely provided the missing amount of money.”

Loki frowned at the counter. “Why would you help them to buy such an ugly old hammer? From the picture in the article, I’d say it couldn’t even have been used for building. The handle is too short. Didn’t they have anything interesting on their shopping list?”

“Believe it or not,” Thor said with a laugh. “That hammer _is_ pretty interesting. And it wasn’t really made for building.”

“Whatever.” The slim fingers continued drawing circles and lines on the smooth surface. “Stop changing the subject every time I ask you anything. I don’t like being lied to.”

“I didn’t lie,” Thor said. Then, after he saw the boy's raised brows, he added, “Not to you, anyway. I lied to the hospital staff, but only to get to you.”

“Who are you, then?”

Thor’s smile turned into a serious expression. “I already told you.”

He didn’t quite expect Loki’s reaction. The boy was up and off his chair in the blink of an eye. He clenched his fists at his sides, and anger twisted the features in his young face. To Thor this look was so familiar and yet so strange, he felt a pit forming in his stomach.

“You have told me shit”, Loki bellowed. “All you keep saying is ‘ _hey, I’m Thor, I’m taking you with me, this is your home now, we’ve known each other for a long time, you’re safe with me, you can trust me, old pal, c’mon trust me_ ’.”

The imitation was cruel but didn’t sting. This wasn’t the first time they’d clashed like this. Not for Thor at least.

“And everything about this is true.” He tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. No use in throwing fists with a teenager. “I also told you, you can’t get all the answers right away.”

“WHY NOT?”

“Because-“ _Because to you it would be only more proof that I’m crazy._ “Because you’re not ready yet. We’re both not ready.”

“What’s that even supposed to _mean_?” The look on Loki’s face was more frustration than real anger, one hand pushing through his curls and tugging at them.

“I’m sorry”, Thor offered. He didn’t know what else to say.

“Stop apologizing!” Loki hissed.

“But it’s true. I _am_ sorry that I cannot give you answers.” He took a deep breath and decided to give the boy a little more. “Look, you just said you don’t like being lied to. But if I am to tell you the truth, I need you to be ready to hear it.”

“And right now I’m not?” He still sounded angry, but at least Loki wasn’t shouting anymore.

“Right now you’re not”, Thor agreed. When this only earned him another disbelieving huff of frustration, he tried again. “Okay, how about a deal?”

Green eyes narrowed but met his for the first time since the start of this conversation.

“I promise to answer every question you ask me truthfully. But,” he held up his hand to stop the boy who was already opening his mouth. “I will _only_ answer directly to the immediate subject of your question and _only_ if you ask the _right_ questions. I will also maintain the authority to postpone them to another day if I get the impression that you’re not ready for my answers. I promise I will tell you everything, just not right away.”

“Yeah, you promised me a lot of things already”, Loki growled.

“And have I broken any of them yet?”

Instead of an answer, the boy just turned on his heels and marched out, leaving Thor alone in the kitchen once more.


End file.
